Arrangement for the attachment of a subwater pump at its outlet tube in a well,preferably for drain water conduits and the like



July 7, 1970 R. A. w. HILDEN 3,519,072

ARRANGEMENT FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF A SUBWATER PUMP AT ITS OUTLET TUBE IN A WELL, PREFERABLY FOR DRAIN WATER CONDUITS AND THE LIKE Filed March 6, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

Inventor RUNE A. W. HILDEN ATTYS.

y 1970 R. A. w. HILDEN 3,519,072

ARRANGEMENT FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF A SUBWATER PUMP AT ITS OUTLET TUBE IN A WELL, PREFERABLY FOR DRAIN WATER CONDUITS AND THE LIKE Filed March 6, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5 2s FIG [II-I-5 2' 2 .L 'r {LE-5| 4 l0 J 9 Inventor RUNE AW HILDEN ATTYS.

y 1970 R. A. w. HILDEN 3,519,072

ARRANGEMENT FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF A SUBWA'I'ER PUMP AT ITs OUTLET TUBE m A WELL, PREFERABLY FOR DRAIN WATER CONDUITS AND THE LIKE Filed March 6, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.8\

Inventor BY RUNE A.-W. HILDEN 77% Zr 5%TYS United States Patent O 3,519,072 ARRANGEMENT FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF A SUBWATER PUMP AT ITS OUTLET TUBE IN A WELL, PREFERABLY FOR DRAIN WATER CON- DUITS AND THE LIKE Rune A. W. Hildeu, Enebyberg, Sweden, assignor to Rima Aktiebolag, Stockholm, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Filed Mar. 6, 1968, Ser. No. 711,058 Claims priority, application Sweden, Mar. 10, 1967, 3,339/ 67 Int. Cl. E21!) 31/00 US. Cl. 166-65 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is directed to means for attaching a subwater pump to outlet conduits and the like with flanges having magnetic components and includes guide members for assisting in joining the flanges on the pump and the outlet tubes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In drain water conduits and the like, it rather often happens, that a well is provided for collecting the drain water or the liquid comparable therewith, and in the well a sub-water pump is immersed, which is connected to a drain conduit for emptying the well. These pumps require supervision from time to time, and thus it is necessary to take them up from the well for servicing and then to immerse them therein after the service has been done and at the same time reconnect them to the drain conduit. This procedure has presented problems, which were very diflicult to handle since it is often impossible or quite difficult in a narrow Well to make proper connections between the flange of the pump and the connecting flange of the drain conduit.

Several proposals have been made for solving this problem but they suffer from the disadvantage that they require very complicated arrangements for guiding the pump into correct position relative to the drain conduit and for causing the required attaching pressure between the two flanges.

The arrangements previously proposed for this purpose are substantially of two different kinds. According to one of them the pump is mounted in hinged relation about a horizontal axis so that it can be rocked up from working position into a higher position. This is illustrated in Swedish patent specification 85,274. According to the other one there is provided a complicated guide construction, by means of which one could immerse the pump under such control that it is automatically brought into the correct position whereby the flanges on the pump and on the drain conduit are mutually inclined in such a way that they become attached to each other by wedge action.

None of these constructions has proven advantageous. In the first mentioned one, a space is required for the rocking movement of the pump which often is greater than that available if the rocking axis shall be situated so high up that the pump can be made available by such a rocking movement. In the latter case, the construction is unreasonably complicated and requires too many parts with the further requirement of a high degree of accuracy, all of which adds to such a pumping arrangement being expensive.

The present invention avoids these disadvantages. The invention is based upon the idea, that one should provide the attachment pressure between the flanges by magnetic attraction. Thereby, however, one meets with another difliculty. Magnetic coupling between two tube conduits is somewhat known, but it has never been hithertofore 3,519,072 Patented July 7,, 1970 usable for the prupose concerned here. For instance, reference may be made to the British patent specification 983,278, which shows a magnetic coupling for providing attachment between the end flanges of two tube conduits. Perhaps it may be rather easy by such means to provide the required contact between the flanges, but this causes extremely great difiiculties to release this contact when taking up the pump. Thus, in the British patent specification, a complicated arrangement is proposed for changing the polarity of one of the two sets of magnets, so that the magnetic construction used for causing the attraction force is reversed into a repulsion magnet arrangement. This device requires use of electromagnets but in many cases the use of electromagnets means an essential loss of power, which could be avoided by the use of permanent magnets, and even if one should want to use electromagnets, it will be a complication to provide the means for the change of polarity, and further the electrical conduits have to be insulated in such a way, that they are not affected by moisture or water.

These difliculties are solved by this invention by making the means for immersing the pump in such a Way that the pump is first brought into a position opposite to the drain conduit but with the flanges separated from each other in order that the flanges should thereafter be approached to each other, said flanges being retained in this position due to the magnetic attraction force, the separation of the pump from the drain conduit, however, taking place by sideward displacement of the flanges relative each other during movement of the pump in a level, parallel to the attachment level of the flanges, said flanges being smooth for this purpose.

In many cases it is not necessary to provide separate tightening means between the flanges, but as a rule it is nevertheless an advantage to provide such tightening means. As tightening means, thereby, one may preferably use a ring-formed, resilient tightening means, which, preferably, is in part enclosed in and attached to one of the flanges and preferably in the flange which is most easy to get at for inspection. In order of further improving the attachment between the flanges of the tubings and thus the qualification for getting by means of the magnet field a reliable tightening, advantageously at least one of the flanges may be combined with the tube part concerned under inter-connection of preferably resilient elements, allowing for a limited universal articulation of the flange and thereby an adaption of the level of the flange to the level of the opposite flange. The adjustable flange thereby is suitably formed as a ring, embracing the tube parts end and being vulcanized to said end by means ofa ring-formed rubber element, which has such a form and situation that it will be subjected to radial c0mpression strain when the flanges are pushed aside, but to axial strain, when the flange changes its angular position relative to the tubing, the rubber element thereby also serving as push damper spring.

In such construction according to this invention, in which one of the tube parts with its flange is in fixed position, the other one with its flange being moveable, it has proved especially advantageous to arrange the magnet or the magnets at the flange of the moveable tube part, whereby an improved control of the interconnection operation is made possible, simultaneously as the risk gets smaller that foreign steel objects will attach to the tube flange, more difiicult to reach during the periods when the coupling is separated.

Further characteristics of the invention will be evident from the following description of some different forms thereof, shown in the attached drawings. The invention, however, shall not be regarded as limited to the arrangement in detail of the forms of execution shown in the 3 drawings, and as already mentioned, the invention may preferably be used also in couplings intended for connection of other types of pumps than the drain water pumps shown in the drawings.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through a drain water well, in which a sub-Water pump is provided to be connected to an outlet tube; FIG. 2 in turn shows a vertical section along the line II-II in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 shOWs in partial axial section the two coupling parts, and FIG. 4 shows the coupling flange, which is provided withh magnets, from the front side. FIG. 5 shows a vertical section through another drain water well in which a subwater pump is provided to be attached to an outlet tube in accordance with this invention, but in which the directioning and the connection of the flanges of the tube parts is made by modified means. FIG. 6 shows in enlarged scale the coupling flanges in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 shows the coupling flange, which is provided with magnets according to FIG. 6, seen from the line VIIVII in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 shows a vertical section through a third drain water well, in which a subwater pump is arranged to be connected to an outlet tube by means of a coupling arrangement according to the invention for rocking about a vertical axis, and FIG. 9 shows a horizontal section through the well of FIG. 8 with the pump in its not yet connection position.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral 1 is a drain water well, in which an outlet tube 2 is rigidly mounted, having its mouth close to the bottom of the well, and to which the outlet stud of a subwater draining pump 3 is intended to be releasably attached in such a way that the pump, when needed, may be elevated from the well for service or remounting. As will be best seen from FIG. 3, the flange on the outlet stud 3 of the pump is for this purpose provided with a rigidly connected so called magnet flange, generally indicated by 4, and comprising a ring-formed plate, in which there is applied a plurality of permanent magnets 5 as well as a resilient tightening ring 6 of O-ring-type, which is in part enclosed in a ring-formed plate, in which there is applied a plurality of parmanent magnets 5 as well as a resilient tightening ring 6 of O-ring-type, which is in part enclosed in a ringformed grove around a strongly beveled mouth 7 of the stream opening 8 of the magnet flange ring. The lower end of the outlet tube 2, which is also provided with a flange, and which is rigidly mounted in a holder 9, so that the flange 2 will assume a substantially vertical position, is in turn provided with a rigidly applied, ring-formed flange washer 10 of soft steel or other material, suitable for magnetic attraction. This flange washer also has a beveled mouth 11. If the outlet tube should already in itself be made from a material suitable from the point of view of magnetic attraction then the flange washer 10 may, of course, be omitted and the bevelling 11 may be made directly in the mouth of the tube. The bevelings 7 and 11, respectivey, are intended to assure that the couping parts sohuld be separable from each other rather easily under mutual vertical displacement; also if some impurities should happen to be situated in the opening between the coupling parts.

To ensure a perfect coupling of the outlet stud 3' of the pump with its magnet flange 4 and the end of the outlet tube 2, two tubes or bars 13 are provided between the holder 9 in the bottom of the well and the frame 12, embracing the descendent opening of the well, said tubes or bars being substantially parallel and being placed in such distance from each other that the outlet stud 3' 0f the pump inside of the magnet flange 4 is movable between them. On the upper side, the distance between the tubes or bars 13 is increased somewhat to make it possible to introduce the magnet flange 4, when the immersing movement of the pump is started, and at the lower part there is provided between the tubes or bars 13 a cross-bar 14, against which the outlet stud 3' of the pump will rest in an axially displaceable manner; see also FIG. 3. The pump 3 is carried up not only by this cross-bar acting in cooperation with the outlet stud 3', when in its lowest position, but also by a suitable somewhat resilient tooth 15, which is attached to the pump at its end remote from the outlet stud.

When the pump 3 is immersed by means of a wire or chain 16 into the well, whereby the magnetic flange 4 is first brought in between the tubes or bars 13, and at the continuous lowering movement care should be taken that the pump by means of the wire or chain 16 is kept in such a position that the flange of the outlet stud 3' slides substantially in contact with the tubes or rods 13 until the pump rests on the cross-bar 14 and the tooth 15. In this way one is assured that the pump will assume a preparatory position in which the magnet flange 4 is placed exactly opposite to the flanged end of the outlet tube 2 but at a distance from same which is greater than the attraction distance of the magnets 5. When the pump has been lowered in this way to its lowermost position the wire or chain 16 may be moved sidewardly to the right in FIG. 1so that the immersed pump is brought to move sufficiently onto the flanged end of the outlet tube 2 that the attraction distance of the magnets shall be decreased and the magnets shall themselves complete the coupling operation. To make such displacement of the pump in its immersed position more readily accomplished separate means may be provided, said means in FIGS. 1 and 2 having been shown as examples in the form of the magnet flange being provided on each side with backwardly directed hooks or bends 17, behind which the two downwardly directed parts of a wire loop 18 are placed during the lowering of the pump, the ends of said loop being attached to the holder 9 and the upper intermediate part being guided in some suitable way over the upper attachment points of the tubes or rods 13. The loop 18 normally is rather slack, but by jerking the upper part of the loop, after the pump has been lowered to its lowermost position, as will be evident, the pump is subjected to a displacement movement in the direction onto the flange 2' of the outlet tube. Of course, other mechanical means are also possible to use for this purpose.

If there is reason to apprehend that the liquid level in the well will be during the coupling operation about even with the centre of the coupling parts, and if one wants to prevent the liquid from splashing around when the coupling parts are moved together the magnet flange of the pump may be provided with a screen like splash protector 19. By means of permanent magnets, one may without difliculty achieve attraction forces between the coupling parts, which amount to several kilopounds. The attachment between the coupling parts and the tightening between them will therefore be extremely satisfactory even at rather high pressures in the outlet conduit 2.

The form of invention shown in FIG. 5, also illustrates coupling together the outlet stud of a pump 3 with the flanged lower end in a drain well of a rigidly mounted outlet tube 2 from the well. Also in this case, the lower part of the outlet tube 2 is supported by a holder 9', and as is best seen from FIG. 6the mouth flange 2' of the outlet tube may be provided with a ring-formed flange washer 10 of same kind as above. The outlet stud 3' of the pump 3, which may now be shorter than in the above described example, still is provided with a flange and also has a rigidly attached magnet flange 4 with permanent magnets 5' and a tightening ring 6. Also in this case, mouth bevelling of the magnet flange 4' as well as of the opening of the flange washer 10 is used such as described in the earlier example. The magnet flange 4 may be of same type as the already described magnet flange 4, but for the purpose of explanation it has been provided with a modified arrangement of the permanent magnets, which, however, will in no way change its properties or functioning.

The more important differences as compared with the previously described form of the invention concern the means for preparatory mechanical directioning of the coupling parts during the coupling operation and the means for mechanically bringing the flanges together. In the embodiment according to FIGS. 5-7, the magnet flange 4 is provided with a rigidly applied, downwardly open cover 20 having side parts diverging downwardly, said cover, as will best be seen from FIG. 7, serving as catching hoop arranged to bestride the mouth flange 2' of the outlet tube 2 with its flange washer when the pump is immersed into the well. The primary directioning of the pump 3 during the immersing operation, required in order that the cover shall be brought into cooperation with the mouth flange of the outlet tube 2, is created by using two support wires or chains 21 and 22. One of these wires or chains 22, whereby is connected to a support eye 23 on the upper side of the cover 20; the other wire or chain 21 is connected to a fixture on the pump, which should suitably be placed on the greatest possible distance from the support eye 23. During the elevation or lowering movement of the pump, the wires or chains 21 and 22 may suitably be manipulated by means of a hand winch 24, which is carried up by a transport carriage 25, which may be driven above the descendence opening to the drain well. In order to make the directioning operation still more convenient, this carriage 25 may be provided with plugs or projections may be brought into cooperation with fittings 26 on the frame 12', surrounding the descendent opening, whereby the carriage will always assume a predetermined position. The wires or chains 21 and 22 are wound up or out from the wire drum of the hand winch 24, and when the pump 3 approaches its completely lowered position the cover 20 rides over the mouth flange of the outlet tube 2 and guides the coupling flanges into a preparatory position opposite to each other. Further, there is provided between a fixture on the pump 3 and a corresponding fixture on the pump 3 and a corresponding fixture on the frame 12' releasably a further wire or chain 27, which may preferably be somewhat extendable, for instance by its one end being connected to a rather strong but short spring (not shown), and this further wire or chain 27 is then placed so that it will take over part of the weight of the pump 3 when the pump approaches its lowermost position thereby serving as a pendulum wire, at which the pump will tend to execute a pendulum movement onto the mouth of flange 2 of the outlet tube 2 during the last moment of the immersing movement when the cover 20 already rides over the said flange and thus will guide the coupling parts. In this way it is ensured in a very simple way that a satisfactory scheme of movement is created during the connection as far as the wires or chains 21 and 22 have such a direction that the magnet flange 4' will from the beginning be on a greater distance from the mouth flange of the outlet tube than corresponding to the attraction distance of the permanent magnets. The wire or chain 27 carries, along with the cover 20 the pump 3 after the coupling has once been established, and when releasing the coupling parts from each other, of course, the magnet flange 4, will a very favourable way be pushed aside from the mouth flange 2 of the outlet tube under vertical movement.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, likewise there is provided an outlet tube 2 in a drain well 1', said outlet tube having its mouth in the lower part of the well and further being provided with a vertical connection flange 2', with a flange washer 10. Also in this case, the lower part of the outlet tube is carried up by a holder 9" with a bottom plate, which also carries up a suitable bearing 29 for the lower end of a vertical guide 30, the upper end of which is rotatably supported in a fixture 31, attached to the reinforcement frame 12" around the descending opening of the well. The guide 30, which may also be rotatable about a vertical axis, shows a noncircular cross section and its lower end is provided with a support flange 32. The sub-water pump 33, in this case,

is provided with hook-formed parts 34 and 35, respectively, which will during the rocking movement of the pump be brought, releasably to embrace the guide 30 and thereby to guide the pump during its vertical movements, 5 the hook formed part 33 thereby being arranged to cooperate with the flange 32 on the guide 30 for indicating the lowermost position of the pump in the well. The pump 33 is provided with a connection stud 33', which has a vertical flange, said flange being in a level, which is not tangential to the rotational axis of the guide 30. The flange 36 is provided with a magnet flange 4 of same kind as has been described above, said magnet flange being intended to cooperate with the flange washer 10 around the mouth of the outlet tube whereby a sufficient directioning of the coupling parts is intended to be achieved when the pump 33 is rotated counterclockwise after lowering. A small angle according to the arrows 37 in FIG. 9 denoting such rotation, said rotation taking place due to the rotation of the guide 30. The required rotation of the guide 30, of course, may be provided by any suitable means, for instance a monkey wrench or a tube wrench indicated at 38 in FIG. 8.

When lowering the pump 33 in the Well, therefore, it is only required to take care that the guide 30 assumes such a position so that the magnet flange 4 will also in the lowered position of the pump, and be sufliciently far away from the mouth flange of the outlet tube so that the magnet flange 4 shall not have a tendency to cause an immediate mutual attraction of the coupling parts, and this position of the guide, of course, may be predetermined in a suitable way. When the guide is thereafter turned, the magnet flange will complete the connection principally in the same way as described above, and when the pump shall be released and elevated, the coupling parts will be displaced sidewardly in a suitable way by the force, executed by the elevation wire or chain 39.

It will immediately be obvious to the man skilled in the art that a plurality of modifications are possible in the shown and described forms of the invention in order of adapting them according to the demands of practice in different forms of systems. The invention shall therefore not be regarded to be limited to the arrangements in detail of the forms described. Thus, for instance, the wire or chain 27 in FIG. 5 may also be used in the example according to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 instead of the loop 18, the screen-like cover 19 in FIG. 1 may be exchanged against the cover 20 in FIGS. 5-7 and take over the task, which the cross-bar 14 has in FIGS. 1 and 2 and so on.

I claim as my invention:

1. A pumping apparatus for attachment to an outlet tube unit submerged in a well, said pumping apparatus comprising:

a pump unit;

a first flange mounted on said pump unit and having a smooth surface;

a second flange mounted in use on the outlet tube unit and having a smooth surface;

guide means for lowering said pump unit into facing relationship with the outlet tube unit and for subseqently displacing said pump unit sidewardly until the smooth surfaces come into contact; and magnetic means disposed in use on at least one of the units to maintain contact between said smooth surfaces, said pump unit being separable by raising the 65 same to cause the smooth surface thereon to slide along the smooth surface of the outlet tube unit. 2. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein said magnetic means is permanently magnetized.

3. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein: said magnetic means is on said pump unit; and the flange disposed in use on the outlet tube unit is soft steel. 4. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein: said guide means includes a pair of parallel rods disposed in use substantially vertically in the well;

said pump unit having a portion joining the flange thereof to the main body thereof, said joining portion being movable between said rods while said body is disposed on one side thereof and said flange is disposed on the other side thereof.

5. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 4, wherein:

the distance between said rods at the upper ends thereof is greater than the distance between said rods at the lower ends thereof to facilitate moving the flange of said pump unit through said rods so that the joining portion becomes disposed between said rods.

6. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 1, and

further comprising:

stop means disposed in use in the well and arranged to limit downward movement of said pump unit to a position wherein said flanges are in facing relationship.

7. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 1, and

further comprising:

an eye on said pump unit; and

wire means fixed in use at a point below the working position of said pump unit and passing through said eye and accessible at a point above the well, whereby pulling upwardly on said wire means causes said pump unit to move toward the outlet tube unit.

8. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein said guide means includes:

two wires attached to said pump unit at spaced points thereon to accommodate vertical movement of said pump unit; and

a pendulum wire attached to said pump unit at a third point thereon and to a point above said pump unit and arranged to cause said pump unit to make a pendulum-like movement toward the outlet tube unit so that the flanges contact.

9. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 1, and

further comprising:

a directional cover covering the flange on said pump unit and extending partially outwardly therefrom and arranged to embrace the flange on the outlet tube unit when said pump unit is immersed into facing relationship with the tube unit.

10. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 1, wheresaid guide means includes a rigid rod that stands ver- 'tically in use in the well and is mounted for rotational movement about its longitudinal axis;

said pump unit being nonrotatably and longitudinally movably mounted on said rod;

said guide means having a first position wherein the flange on said pumping unit is spaced sufficiently from the flange on the outlet tube unit to prevent magnetic attraction therebetween;

said guide means being rotatable to a second position wherein the flange of said pump unit is substantially closer to the flange of the outlet tube unit to cause magnetic attraction therebetween.

11. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 10,

wherein:

said rod is non-circular and said guide means includes at least one hook on said pump unit which embraces said rod to afford rotational movement of said pump unit only when said rod rotates.

12. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 10,

wherein:

said rod is rotatably geared in use at a point below the working position of said pump unit and at a point above the Well.

13. The pumping apparatus set forth in claim 10,

and further comprising:

a flange disposed in use in the well and arranged to stop downward movement of said pump unit at a position wherein said flanges are in facing relationship.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,918,972 12/1959 Tubbs 166--85 X 3,032,106 5/1962 Focht et a1. 166-.5 3,160,386 12/1964 Heine 285-9 X 3,215,202 11/1965 Pollard et al. 166.5 3,324,950 6/1967 Andrew 16685 FOREIGN PATENTS 983,278 2/ 1965 Great Britain.

JAMES A. LEPPINK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

